Page 73 of Silver Lining
Louise's gaze went to the window. A blizzard raged beyond the glass. If the storm didn't blow through in the next hour, she suspected everyone would stay overnight. Already she was counting linens and pillows in her mind, trying to figure where she would put everyone. The men could make up the beds in the bunkhouse and sleep there. The women would have to share the only bed in the house. Gilly and Sunshine could climb in with her, and she'd put Livvy on the cot.
If this were a real marriage and this were really her house, she'd inform Max that the other two bedrooms had to be furnished before next winter. It would be good to have them available for emergencies.
Max coughed in his hand, then tugged his shirt collar. "I assumed you'd had that spoon for a long time. I didn't know the prospectors gave it to you." Turning his head, he gazed at Sunshine, who concentrated on coaxing music out of the piano. "I remember the schoolhouse and the first time I saw you. I thought I was on fire, and you put a cool wet rag on my forehead. I opened my eyes, and I truly thought I was looking at an angel."
"An exhausted angel with matted hair, dirty clothes, and probably wearing vomit on her boots," Louise said with a smile. She reached a finger to the mantel and touched the spoon. "The first time I saw you, you were in Dovey Watson's saloon, drinking whiskey with Stony Marks."
"That's odd." His eyebrows rose. "I don't recall seeing you before I got sick."
"There's no reason you'd remember." Tilting her head, she considered asking a question that she wasn't sure she wanted answered. "Max? I've been wondering. Why did you keep the green marble?"
Weeks had passed before she figured out what it was that he transferred from one pair of trousers to another, what it was in his pocket that he gripped like a lucky charm. Except she doubted he considered the green marble lucky.
"I keep the marble to remind me how quickly a person's life can change," he said finally. "To remind me to expect the unexpected. I keep it because it represents everything that's happened since I got sick in Piney Creek."
She nodded slowly, pulling the dust rag through her fingers. "I guessed it was something like that."
What he didn't say was the marble reminded him their marriage was only temporary. But she sensed that was also one of the functions the marble served. Eventually, he'd have his freedom.
"Did you like my new song?" Sunshine asked, turning on the bench to smile at them.
"Absolutely." Louise set aside her dust rag to applaud. "I liked it so well, I'm hoping you'll play it again."
Wally's voice called from the kitchen, and Max leaned into the hallway to say he'd be right along.
"Be careful out there," she said softly.
His gaze traveled slowly across her bosom before he met her eyes again. Butterflies exploded in her chest and banged around her rib cage. And she hoped to high heaven that he had no inkling of his power to reduce her to pudding with a glance.
"We'll be back for supper in about an hour."
Neither of them moved until Wally called again. They stood transfixed, each studying the other's tired face. Louise couldn't guess what Max was thinking, but she was thinking about the marble in his pocket.
He was right about life changing quickly. That tiny scratched marble had instantly given her a family, and a husband she was beginning to love.
Moisture glistened in her eyes, and she turned away before he saw. Oh Lord. She didn't want to love him or his family.
With a sinking heart, it occurred to her that the future held nothing but heartbreak. She could see it coming.
*
It was Max who ran into trouble. And it wasn't his heart that broke, it was his arm.
Wally and Dave brought him back to the house and sat him on the edge of the kitchen table after Livvy hastily cleared away pans and mixing bowls. "What happened?" she demanded, gingerly helping Max out of his heavy coat.
"Marva Lee didn't clear the stone fence," Wally explained. "We're going to need some whiskey to take care of this."
"Under the dry sink," Louise said. Someone, Gilly or Sunshine, threw open the cabinet doors. She kept her gaze on Max who sat white-faced, his teeth clenched, holding his arm close to his chest.
Wally took the whiskey bottle from Gilly, pulled the cork with his teeth, and handed it to Max. "If the snow wasn't so deep, Marva Lee would have broken a leg and we'd have had to put her down. And Max would have a whole lot more broken bones than he does."
"You jumped a fence?" Louise stared in disbelief. "In this weather? You dumb son of a—" Remembering Sunshine, she halted and bit her lip. The urge to yell at him sent a flood of crimson rising up her throat, and her hands curled into fists.
"It wasn't the smartest thing I ever did," Max agreed. He took a long swig from the bottle, then blinked at his mother. "Ma? You going to set this?"
Livvy threw up her hands and stepped backward. "Lord! I was never good at doctoring when it meant hurting one of my children. Wally, you do it."
"I don't know anything about setting an arm. Dave?"
